Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
June 17, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM U.S./ET (GMT-4)
Larry Bonfante, CIO of the U.S. Tennis Association, will discuss the skills and approaches that your rising IT leaders must learn to be effective in an executive capacity.
How to Handle Your New CEO: Managing Turnover at the Top
June 18, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
Turbulent times have increased turnover at the top. Find out what Council CIOs have done to "break in" new CEOs—build relationships, set expectations, educate on the role of IT.
Mid-Market CIO Panel: Tips and Techniques for Improving Vendor Relationships
July 15, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
We'll highlight relationship priorities and best practices identified in a Council study, and we'll interact with a CIO panel on the approaches they've used to improve strategic vendor partnerships.
Executive Competencies Assessment Tool
Assess Your Business Leadership Skills with the Council's new benchmarking tool. Rate yourself in change leadership, strategy, customer focus and more.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!
October 01, 2002 — CIO —
Collaborative design is often billed as a tranformative technology that can overcome the traditional limitations of doing business globally. That’s what my friend, the CIO of a shoe company, thought. But he hadn’t yet met a person I call John Henry Hwang.
The original John Henry was a low-wage laborer who worked on railroad tunnels in the South after the Civil War. Those big strong men used pile drivers and hand drills to make holes for dynamite. According to the legend of John Henry, some clever salesperson (some say it was a manager) tried to put him out of a job by bringing in a steam-powered drill. Henry challenged the drill to a race. In the shale of those mountains, a strong man like Henry could, and did, outperform the drill, though Henry died in the attempt.
John Henry Hwang (not his real name) is a modern day Chinese version of the legendary John Henry, who has so far outperformed a stereolithography (STL) machine. Have you ever seen one of these? It can take a virtual 3-D image from a software package such as Catia and put out a colored 3-D model made of plastic. The STL machine divides the 3-D image into thin layers and makes the model by laser printing layer after layer of plastic.
Slick. And apparently useful at my friend’s shoe company. Here’s why. Right now, the shoe designers produce hundreds of designs for each season. The designs are sent to China, and the Chinese manufacturer’s John Henry Hwang makes a 3-D physical model from a design. Six weeks later, the models come back, the muckety-mucks get together and the final products are chosen.
What if we could just use the STL machine? We could save six weeks and who knows how much modeling cost, my CIO friend thought.
The CIO called a company that leases STL machines, and, serendipitously, it had a 3-D model of a shoe sitting around its office. The CIO got the model?and in one of those rare moments, about which you brag to your spouse?walked into the president’s office and plunked it on his desk.
The president’s reaction was the kind you like to come home and brag to your spouse about. If you’re thinking, "Wow. That’s great. Get on it right away," you’ve got the gist of it. (The CIO’s wife almost certainly got a somewhat longer version.)
When the CIO walked the model around to the various division managers, their reaction was also positive.